We're Gonna Be Great
by BonesBird
Summary: Little looks at the Hotchner's from being teens to "100". Written for my "cousin" and friend Arwen.


**Title: We're Gonna Be Great  
****Summary: Little looks at the Hotchner's from being teens to "100". Written for my "cousin" and friend Arwen.  
****Lyrics: On My Mind - New Found Glory  
****Sheila. Your "welcome home present" - Lots of love from me, with help of Layla, Dana, SJ and Tish.**

**I go off the divorce papers saying they married in 2000 here, and Hotch's age in Nameless, Faceless was 43. So that's where this comes from. **

_**

* * *

Lets make a date out of the cinema  
**__**Then stay out til early in the morning**_

He laughed and pulled her along with him. Wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him, the cool December (January?) air cold on both their arms, causing their cheeks to go rosy and their breath to come in sharp gasps. He laughed and smiled as the fireworks went off overhead. He whispered in her ear as they swayed under the celebrations. Their family and friends all around them, cheering in a new year. Their final year, their best year.

"This year's for you and me" he whispered "we're gonna be great"

_**I always like it coz we take it slow  
**__**While everyone around us seem so hurried**_

Graduation had seemed so far away at the start of the semester, so far from happening, but now he was getting ready to leave, for college, and he still wasn't sure where she was going. Was she going to be coming with him, was she going to separate them, was she going to break up with him. She'd kept tight lipped, and the lack of response was beginning to worry him. He didn't know what to say to her to get her to tell him. Because he didn't want to push her one way or another. She still had a year. She could still change her mind.

"I'll meet you there" she whispered, as she jumped on his back. "we're gonna be great"

_**It feels familiar coz I've been here before  
**__**When your words swept the ground right from under me**_

He groaned under the weight of all his textbooks. He had so much to read and it was only the first week of the second year. At least she would be here with him this year. He wasn't sure how he was going to cope with doing everything that he needed to do and still keeping her happy. Keeping every bit of faith she had in him to balance them. He didn't want to let her down. It was the last thing he ever wanted to do. She was sat in his room when he got back, and just seeing her smile reminded him of all the good things he had. He hugged her and stroked her hair

"I'm gonna figure out how to do this" he whispered "we're gonna be great"

_**Remember when you were so insecure  
**__**Now you can't get your hands up off of me**_

College had passed by so quickly. 4 years earlier they'd been kids, kids play-acting as adults. Learning how to be as adults, in a relationship, around friends. They had suffered, they had fought, they had struggled, now there was going to be a year where he was learning only how to do the job he wanted, with little time for anything else. While she was going to continue studying, learning to be anything and everything she wanted. He was going to miss her, but at least they'd be nearby each other, at least they'd be in close contact. The harder he thought, the more she reassured him.

"Don't miss me too long" she whispered "we're gonna be great"

_**But the time we spent was so short  
**__**Can't believe it's time to go again**_

She'd been patient while he finished, while he graduated and got his job as a prosecutor. Now she was getting impatient and he knew it. It was time for him to focus on her needs, and her wants for a while. He could work and still devote as much time as he could to her. He remembered their first New Years Eve. It had been so full of promise. This time they were in the same place, but he had an important question to ask her, and his only hope was she'd say yes. As the fireworks denoting the New Year started he dropped to one knee on the patio and grinned at her

"Will you marry me" he whispered "We're gonna be great"

_**You're always on my mind  
**__**All the time  
**__**On my mind believe it**_

The planning was over, the invitations were sent, everything was booked and ready. So why was he so scared something would go wrong. So many years of loving this woman. Almost half his life had been spent with her by his side. He loved her and the next day was going to show her how much he loved her. The last thing he wanted to tell her before they were officially married was how much he had enjoyed the last 16 years. How proud he was that she had stood by his side through every job change he had made since they had met. He called her, and told her everything

"I'll see you tomorrow" she whispered down the phone. "We're gonna be great"

_**Can we pick it up where you left off  
**__**When you said you'll never get over me**_

Every time they failed, every time the cycles restarted, every time there was a negative result she lost more hope, he couldn't cope with her losing all hope. He has buoyed her up when she'd flagged and today they saw the fruits of their labour. A flicker on a screen. That was all it was, a tiny, teeny flicker on the screen that showed them their baby was alive and safe, settled inside Haley and getting ready to grow into something. He knew she was scared about it

"We're having a baby" he whispered "We're gonna be great"

_**I'll take for granted every roll off your tongue  
**__**Coz you're screaming out all your honesty**_

He was home. This tiny thing they had created together. He was here and he was alive and he was slowly teaching them that they needed to change the way they lived, they way they loved, the way they fought and the way they thought. Everything was to do with the tiny thing that had been brought into the world because they had wanted him, they had fought for him. They had suffered just to get him with them, to get him there and to have a family, they were finally a family.

"We're parents now" she whispered. "We're gonna be great"

_**But the time we spent was so short  
**__**Can't believe it's time to go again**_

Screaming tantrums, food on the floor and a wife on the verge of a nervous breakdown, that's what he returned home to, every time it was different, but more often than not. This was his return. She would tell him she needed him around more. He would tell her that this was his job. It was who he was. That was a particular bone of contention for the two of them. Nothing had changed in the last few years. He could probably spend more time at home, he could probably devote more time to his family, but he loved his job too, and that was the way he wanted it to continue.

"I never meant for it to go like this" he said. "We were gonna be great"

_**You're always on my mind  
**__**All the time  
**__**On my mind believe it**_

He realised she had had enough. Whatever the problems he'd hoped they'd have sorted them out. Nothing has been easy for them, he had been trying to patch things up, but the big fight had been family vs. career and almost every time career had won. He loved her, the last thing he'd ever wanted was for her to leave, but he understood that she had chosen the best course for their son and herself. She called him, a few days after she left. He begged her to come home, that he'd change.

"It's too late" she said. "We were gonna be great"

_**You know it's time you see the bags at the door  
**__**I'm minutes away from departing**_

He packed up his things and got ready to drive to his new apartment a few blocks away. He wanted to be close enough to see their boy as often as he could, everything he had wanted was crumbling down around her. But he wanted her to be happy. He wanted their family to be happy, ad secure. Whatever happened he needed to know they'd be happy. Because even if he wasn't, seeing his sons smile could turn around everything. She watched as he put his last box in his SUV.

"I'll miss you" he said "We were gonna be great"

_**In exchange for a few last words  
**__**Will never be enough for me**_

He watched her walk into his hospital room. He was in agony, not from his physical wounds but from the look of hurt on her face. She knew what was happening, she knew they were in danger, she knew he wouldn't do this to her if he wasn't worried. She cried, he watched her dry her tears, tried to stop them falling. Brought their son in to say goodbye, to be taken away and protected.

"I know we'll be safe" she said. "We were gonna be great"

_**You're always on my mind  
**__**All the time  
**__**On my mind believe it**_

His hand rested on her in the rest home. He wanted to say a final goodbye to here. There was little more he could say.

"We were gonna be great"

_**You're always on my mind  
**__**All the time  
**__**Coz there's nothing I'd rather think about**_


End file.
